Χρήστης:Teles~elwiki/Page6

Ο όρος '''Μεταπολίτευση'''αναφέρεται στην ιστορική περίοδο της [[Ελληνική ιστορία|Ελληνικής ιστορίας]] μετά την πτώση της [[Χούντα των Συνταγματαρχών|δικτατορίας]]. Τα όρια της έννοιας αυτής μπορεί να είναι έως τις [[Ελληνικές βουλευτικές εκλογές 1974|εκλογές 1974]] του [[1974]] (στενή αντίληψη), ή μέχρι τις μέρες μας. Η πορεία προς την Μεταπολίτευση μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ότι ξεκινά με την προσπάθεια [[Φιλελευθεροποίηση|"φιλελευθεροποίησης"]] του καθεστώτος της Δικτατορίας, σχέδιο που είχε συλλάβει ο επικεφαλής [[Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος|Παπαδόπουλος]] των συνταγματαρχών. Το σχέδιο αυτό της "Φιλελευθεροποίησης" κορυφώθηκε με την κυβέρνηση Μαρκεζίνη, η οποία ατυχώς για την ίδια και τα σχέδια του δικτάτορα ανατράπηκε μετά τα γεγονότα του [[Πολυτεχνείο|Πολυτεχνείου]] από τον ταξίαρχο Ιωαννίδη στις [[25 Νοεμβρίου]] [[1973]]. Με την σειρά του ο "αόρατος δικτάτορας" και η κυβέρνηση Ανδρουτσόπουλου που εγκατέστησε επανέφεραν τα σκληρά μέτρα των πρώτων ημερών της δικτατορίας που είχαν σχετικά "χαλαρώσει" κατά την διάρκεια της "φιλελευθεροποίησης". Στις [[15 Ιουλίου]] [[1974]]προχώρησε στο πραξικόπημα κατά της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας που έδωσε την "αφορμή" στους Τούρκους να εισβάλουν στην Κύπρο (20 Ιουλίου) και οδήγησε την Ελλάδα στα πρόθυρα πολέμου με την Τουρκία (επιστράτευση φιάσκο) και τέλος την κατάρρευση της "κυβέρνησης" στις 23 Ιουλίου και την παράδοση της κυβέρνησης στους πολιτικούς υπό τον [[Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής|Καραμανλή]]. The long course towards the metapolitefsi began with the disputed [[liberalization]] plan of [[George Papadopoulos]], the head of the [[military dictatorship]]. This process was opposed by prominent politicians, such as [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]] and [[Stephanos Stephanopoulos]]. Papadopoulos' plan was halted with the [[Athens Polytechnic uprising]], a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta, and the counter coup staged by [[Dimitrios Ioannides]]. Ioannidis' failed [[coup d'état]] against the elected president of [[Cyprus]], [[Makarios III]], and the subsequent [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkish invasion]] resulted in the fall of the dictatorship and the appointment of an interim government, known as the "national unity government", led by former prime minister, [[Constantine Karamanlis]]. Karamanlis legalized the [[Communist Party of Greece]] (KKE) and formed a new party named [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]], which won the [[Greek legislative election, 1974|elections of 1974]]. == Prologue == ===Papadopoulos' liberalization process: The metapolitefsi that never was=== [[Image:Markezinisoathofoffice.jpg|350px|thumb|A ''metapolitefsi'' that failed: [[Spyros Markezinis]] taking the oath of office during Papadopoulos' attempt at metapolitefsi under the watchful eyes of [[George Papadopoulos]]. Vice President [[Odysseas Angelis]] is also present at the ceremony]] In September 1973, [[George Papadopoulos]], the head of the [[Greek military junta of 1967-1974|military junta]] that took power in 1967, initiated an attempt at ''metapolitefsi'' or process of liberalisation, aiming to legitimize his government and rehabilitate its image as an [[international]] [[pariah]]. Feeling confident of his grasp on power after six years of dictatorship (during which he appointed himself to a multitude of high echelon government positions including [[Regent of Greece|Regent]]), he appointed [[Spiros Markezinis]] as [[Prime Minister of Greece]], entrusting him with the task of leading Greece to parliamentary rule. Papadopoulos however proposed a constitution that accorded far greater powers to the [[List of Presidents of Greece|President of Greece]] (a position Papadopoulos also held) than those of the [[Hellenic Parliament|Parliament]].<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was">Ioannis Tzortzis, [http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/hellenicObservatory/pdf/TheMetapolitefsiThatNeverWas.pdf "The Metapolitefsi that never was"]</ref><ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12982&m=A11&aa=2&eidos=A "Past present"], ''Athens News'', 4 October 2002</ref> Under the condition that Papadopoulos would curtail any military interference that could hinder the process, Spiros Markezinis was the only old guard politician prepared to assist in the controversial mission of helping the transition to some form of parliamentary rule.<ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> Having secured quasi-dictatorial presidential powers under the new constitution, Papadopoulos not only acquiesced but ordered a wide range of liberalization measures, including the abolision of [[martial law]], the easing of press [[censorship]] and the release [[political prisoners]].<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/><ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> Ostensibly free elections were announced soon after, in which political formations including part of the traditional left, but not the [[Communist Party of Greece]] (which was banned during the [[Greek Civil War]]), were expected to participate.<ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> Papadopoulos failed to convince the better part of the old political [[elite]], including politicians such as [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]], [[Stephanos Stephanopoulos]], to participate in his liberalization attempt. Most old guard politicians could not condone the fact that some of their colleagues were to remain excluded from the political process. Moreover, they were opposed to the concentration of powers delegated to the President,<ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> and resented having been demonized by Papadopoulos' junta as ''palaiokommatistes'' (meaning ''antiquated party men'') during the previous six years. ===A nervous transition=== A transition from one form of government to another, especially from dictatorship to democracy, is typically difficult and fraught with uncertainty and anxiety for the country that undertakes it. Greece's transition was no different as the military, political elites and students sought to affirm their respective positions in society. In particular, the [[student movement]] in Greece had been repressed by the dictatorship and student activists were marginalized and suppressed in the name of [[anti-communism]]. Early student activism during the dictatorship included the self-immolation in [[1970]] of [[Geology]] student [[Kostas Georgakis]] in [[Genoa]], [[Italy]], in protest against the junta. His action served to demonstrate the depth of the resistance and resentment against the regime. [[Student activism]] in Greece was traditionally strong and, unlike in some dictatorships where democracy was a distant dream, had a long and established record of action in democratic times and, more importantly, it possessed the memory of past democratic action. In addition, the stiff constraints imposed by the rigid and artificial Papadopoulos transition upon the democratic body politic of Greece antagonized not only the politicians but also the [[intelligentsia]], whose primary exponents were the students.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/><ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> Not unexpectedly, in November 1973 the [[Athens Polytechnic uprising]] broke out starting with the usual [[student protest]] tactics such as building occupations and radio broadcasts. The student uprising is believed to have been spontaneous, and not orchestrated by any particular [[political group]] in Greece. In fact, a smaller uprising had preceded it two weeks earlier at the Athens Law School and it was still active even as events at the Polytechnic were unfolding.<ref name="David Glass">David Glass, [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13077&m=A08&aa=1&eidos=A "All was not what it seemed in early junta days"], ''Athens News'', 30 July 2004</ref> Unlike a previous strike in the Athens law school in February 1973, prior to their liberalisation attempt, where the regime negotiated at length with the students and bloodshed was avoided, in November 1974 the regime made no attempt to negotiate with the students.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> At the same time the students taking part in the smaller law school demonstration moved into the Polytechnic, as the events there gathered momentum.<ref name="David Glass"/> ===Tragedy as political experiment: A turning point=== [[Image:Tank during 17 November 1973.jpg|250px|thumb|The end of the Papadopoulos liberalization experiment: a military tank standing in front of the [[Athens Polytechnic]]. Eventually, this vehicle would crush the campus gates on [[November 17]] [[1973]], putting a violent end to the student uprising and ending hopes of a peaceful democratic transition.]] In normal (democratic) times, such a protest might have been defused using tactics based on usual historical [[precedent]]s such as [[negotiations]] with student leaders, and failing that, resorting to using normal [[crowd control]] methods followed by more negotiations, as the regime had done with the law students some weeks before.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> However, this student protest happened in the middle of the uncertain political [[experiment]] of [[transition]] from dictatorship to democracy. Given that the main [[engineer]] of the [[transition]], Papadopoulos, did not have much experience in democratic transitions, the unfolding events were hard to predict or manage for everyone involved. In failing to negotiate, the junta made martyrs out of the Polytechnic students. This in turn gave the student protest momentum and it eventually evolved into a near-universal demonstration against the dictatorship. At that point, the transitional government panicked,<ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> sending a [[tank]] crashing through the gates of the Athens Polytechnic. In fact Markezinis himself had the humiliating task to request Papadopoulos to re-impose martial law following the events at the Polytechnic.<ref name="Past present, 4 October 2002"/> The student protests were the first sign that Papadopoulos' attempt at "liberalisation" in Greece had begun to fail. The inherent contradictions of the coup, carefully suppressed during the dictatorship, became much more visible during the regime's attempt at democratisation.<ref name="Rise and decline of Democracy">[http://users.hol.gr/~ergatiki/ep/7_2004/Metapolitefsi.htm ΑΝΟΔΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΑΚΜΗ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑΣ] (Rise and decline of Democracy: online article)</ref> In its strident anti-communism, the junta was opposed by large sections of Greek society which wished to overcome the trauma of the Greek Civil War. Despite his best intentions, Papadopoulos had to be divisive and anti-communist from the beginning because otherwise his [[coup d'état]] would not have made sense.<ref name="Thirty years ago">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13073&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=A "Thirty years ago ..."], ''Athens News'', 2 July 2004</ref> ===Back to (dictatorial) orthodoxy=== [[Image:April 21 - Greek Junta.jpg|300px|thumb|Left to right: Gizikis, Papadopoulos and Ioannides in happier times ]] The events at [[Athens Polytechnic]] unfolded precisely as the dictatorship's more staunch members had hoped. Brigadier [[Dimitrios Ioannides]], leader of a junta within the junta, was disdainful of Papadopoulos, his perceived move to democracy, and his pursuit of a foreign policy more independent of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States]]. Ioannides, a man with an established anti-democratic record, seized the opportunity. On [[25 November]] [[1973]] he used the uprising as a pretext to stage a counter coup that overthrew Papadopoulos and put an abrupt end to Markezinis' attempt at transition to democratic rule. In fact, his coup was planned months prior to the events at the Polytechnic.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> Ioannidis proceeded to arrest Markezinis and Papadopoulos, cancelled the elections, reinstated [[martial law]] and appointed General [[Phaedon Gizikis]], an old dictatorship workhorse devoid of any [[charisma]], as the new president. Unlike Papadopoulos, Ioannides was not particularly concerned with legal or democratic processes. He was prepared for a dictatorship of thirty or more years.<ref name="The Metapolitefsi that never was"/> Being a more orthodox dictator and thinking in simpler terms than Papadopoulos, he solved the dilemma on how to achieve a democratic transition in a simpler way: he dropped the plan completely.<ref name="Coerant">Albert Coerant, [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12936&m=A08&aa=1&eidos=A "The boy who braved the tanks"], ''Athens News'', 16 November 2001</ref> ==The new junta: Enter Ioannides == Previous to seizing power, Ioannides preferred to work in the background and he never held any formal office in the junta. Now he was the [[de facto]] leader of the regime.<ref name="Greece marks '73 student uprising">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12502&m=A01&aa=3&eidos=A "Greece marks '73 student uprising"], ''Athens News'', 17 November 1999</ref><ref name="Mario Modiano">Mario Modiano, [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13076&m=A06&aa=1&eidos=A "A long, happy summer night 30 years ago"], ''Athens News'', 23 July 2004</ref> The new government pursued an aggressive internal crackdown and an expansionist foreign policy. ===The Ioannidis method=== At his frequent press conferences during his rule, Papadopoulos delighted in using ''the [[patient]] in a [[Orthopedic cast|cast]] [[analogy]]'' to describe his assault on the [[body politic]] of Greece. He used to say that he put the patient (Greece) in a cast ("''ασθενή στον γύψο''" literally: patient in [[gypsum]]) so that he could fix its skeletal (implying [[political structure|political]]) structure.<ref name="Diane Shugart">Diane Shugart, [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=11726&m=A01&aa=4&eidos=A "The colonels' coup and the cult of the kitsch"], ''Athens News'', 20 April 1997</ref> This bizarre analogy aside, Papadopoulos at least indicated some intention of ending military rule once the political system had recovered to his satisfaction and that the treatment would progress on some legal and political basis.<ref name="Coerant"/> In contrast, Ioannides did not talk to the press and did not offer any analogies for his proposed treatment. But through his actions one can determine that the cast analogy did not serve his purposes any longer. Ioannidis therefore abandoned the patient in a cast analogy that Papadopoulos offered in order to make a political statement that no democratic transition would take place during his tenure in power. This also indicated that Ioannides was not concerned about legal formalities.<ref name="Coerant"/>  ===Inside the ESA chambers=== Ioannides' main instrument of fear was the dreaded interrogators of the [[Greek Military Police]] ('''EAT/ESA''', Greek: '''''ΕΑΤ/ΕΣΑ''': Ειδικόν Ανακριτικόν Τμήμα Ελληνικής Στρατιωτικής Αστυνομίας'' translated as: ''Special Interrogation Unit of the Greek Military Police''). Using EAT/ESA offices and [[prison]] cells as [[torture chamber]]s he launched an all out assault on Greek [[civil society]].<ref name="Past present. 2 May 2003">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13012&m=A13&aa=1&eidos=A "Past present"], ''Athens News'', 2 May 2003</ref><ref name="Coerant"/> He moved quickly to stifle any dissent and re-instituted repressive measures such as [[censorship]], expulsions, arbitrary [[Detention (Imprisonment)|detention]]s and [[torture]], performing these with far greater rigour than Papadopoulos regime.<ref name="Coerant"/> Gone was the usual anti-communist pretext. Everyone was a potential target once they were noticed. [[Artist]]s, [[painting|painter]]s, [[intellectual]]s whose only crime was voicing some anti-junta opinion or created a work that criticized the junta, were automatically dispatched to the nearest neighbourhood EAT/ESA centre. Ioannides' government possessed all the hallmarks of a [[police state]]. People were held incommunicado and without EAT/ESA notifying anyone for weeks or months on end and were only allowed limited communication thereafter with their families through the Greek [[Red Cross]], a function that it normally performs in wartime and for enemy prisoners. Loud music blared from the detention centres in order to suppress the screams of the victims.<ref name="Coerant"/> However, according to Ioannides, his regime was successful. Unlike Papadopoulos who tried to take the patient out of the cast, under Ioannidis the [[vital signs]] of the Greek body politic were barely perceptible. ===Foreign policy by coup=== Having successfully terrorized the population, the "junta nova" tried to realise its foreign policy ambitions by launching a military coup against President [[Makarios III]] of [[Cyprus]]. Gizikis, as usual, obliged by issuing the order for the coup on Ioannides' behalf. <ref name="Coup order">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=11813&m=A03&aa=1&eidos=A "Coup order"], ''Athens News'', 5 August 1997</ref> Makarios was at the time both [[List of Archbishops of Cyprus|Archbishop]] and [[Presidents of Cyprus|President of Cyprus]]. He was deposed by military coup on [[July 15]] [[1974]] and replaced by [[Nikos Sampson]]. However the coup backfired as [[Turkey]] reacted with [[Operation Atilla]] on [[July 20]]; the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]] had began. This military disaster for Greece was the final straw for Ioannides who had already instigated or participated in three coups in seven years, a record in modern Greek history. == The post invasion paralysis and the Metapolitefsi paradox== Immediately after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus the dictators, not expecting such a disastrous outcome, finally decided that Ioannides' approach was catastrophic for the interests of the country. The complete rationale for their subsequent actions, even to this day, is not known. Analysis of their motives can improve with time as new details come to the fore. However indications of panic and indecision were manifestly evident from the reaction of the Greek public as they raided [[supermarket]]s fearing an all out [[war]] with [[Turkey]] and sensing the inability of the junta to govern, as well as the anxious attempts of the junta members to communicate with and surrender power to the very same members of the democratic [[The Establishment|Establishment]] of Greece that they had [[demon]]ized and maligned as palaiokommatistes (meaning ''old party system men'') for seven years. They had also worked hard during their seven years in power to create a ''New Greece'' (Νέα Ελλάδα) under the [[slogan]] of ''Ellas Ellinon Christianon'' (translated as ''Greece of the Christian Greeks,''<ref name="Diane Shugart"/> completely devoid of any link with the old party system and its politicians .<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005">[http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13140&m=A17&aa=1&eidos=A "Past present"], ''Athens News'', 22 July 2005</ref> Now they were ready to relinquish this vision to the old guard. This [[paradox]] is at the centre of the phenomenon known as Metapolitefsi. ==Deus ex machina== [[Image:Karamanlisarrivesinathens.jpg|350px|right|thumb|[[Konstantinos Karamanlis]] arrives in Athens on the French Presidential jet, courtesy of French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, to assume the leadeship of government of national unity that would lead to free elections. He is greeted by a jubilant crowd of supporters craving for the restoration of democratic rule.]] Greece is the birthplace of the [[Theatre]] as well as [[Democracy]]. In ancient theatrical plays every time the plot got too tangled for a rational resolution, [[catharsis]] (Greek for ''cleansing'' i.e. ''resolution'' as in ''cleaning up the mess'') came in the form of a god ([[Deus ex machina]] (translated from Latin as ''God from the machine'')), that descended from above with the aid of mechanical devices such as [[lever]]s, [[Crane (machine)|crane]]s and [[pulley]]s i.e. from a machine, and dispensed resolution to even the most complex of predicaments. The post-invasion plot of the Greek political scene in 1974 resembled that of an ancient drama.<ref name="Thirty years ago"/> It also came with its own Deus ex machina (Greek: Από μηχανής Θεός). The machine this time was more modern, it was a jet and there was no actor but a well trusted and famous politician. The function however was the same: '''Catharsis'''.<ref name="Thirty years ago"/> ===Prelude to Catharsis=== Following the Cyprus invasion by the Turks, the dictators finally abandoned Ioannides and his policies. On the [[July 23]], [[1974]], President Gizikis called a meeting of old guard politicians, including [[Panagiotis Kanellopoulos]], [[Spiros Markezinis]], [[Stephanos Stephanopoulos]], [[Evangelos Averoff]] and others. The heads of the armed forces also participated in the meeting. The agenda was to appoint a national unity government that would lead the country to elections.<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/> Former Prime Minister Panagiotis Kanellopoulos was originally suggested as the head of the new interim government. He was the democratically elected Prime Minister originally deposed by the dictatorship and a distinguished veteran politician who had repeatedly criticized Papadopoulos and his successor. Raging battles were still taking place in Cyprus' north when Greeks took to the streets in all the major cities, celebrating the junta's decision to relinquish power before the war in Cyprus could spill all over the Aegean.<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/> But talks in Athens were going nowhere with Gizikis' offer to Panayiotis Kanellopoulos to form a government.<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/>[[Image:metapolitefsi.jpg|350px|right|thumb|left|Metapolitefsi at its dawn: Junta President [[Phaedon Gizikis]] and the heads of the armed forces convene with old guard politicians to relinquish power to democratic rule.]] Nonetheless, after all the other politicians departed without reaching a decision, [[Evangelos Averoff]] remained in the meeting room and further engaged Gizikis. He insisted that Constantine Karamanlis, prime minister of Greece from 1955 to 1963, was the only political personality who could lead a successful transition government, taking into consideration the new circumstances and dangers both inside and outside the country. Gizikis and the heads of the armed forces initially expressed reservations, but they finally became convinced by Averoff's arguments.<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/> Admiral Arapakis was the first, among the participating military leaders, to express his support for Karamanlis. After Averoff's decisive intervention, Gizikis decided to invite Karamanlis to assume the premiership. Throughout his stay in [[France]], Karamanlis was a thorn at the side of the junta because he possessed the credibility and popularity they lacked both in Greece and abroad and he also criticized them very often. Now he was called to end his self imposed exile and restore Democracy to the place that originally created it.<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/> Upon news of his impending arrival cheering Athenian crowds took to the streets chanting: "Ερχεται! Ερχεται!" "''Here he comes! Here he comes!''"<ref name="Past Present, 22 July 2005"/> Similar celebrations broke out all over Greece. Athenians in the thousands also went to the airport to greet him.<ref name="Nick Michaelian">Nick Michaelian, [http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13075&m=A04&aa=1&eidos=A "The real unsung heroes"], ''Athens News'', 16 July 2004. Thousands went to the airport to greet him.</ref> Karamanlis returned to [[Athens]] on the French President's [[Lear Jet]] made available to him by [[President of the French Republic|President]] [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], a close personal friend, and was sworn-in as [[List of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister]] under President [[Phaedon Gizikis]] who remained temporarily in power for legal continuity reasons. Despite being faced with an inherently unstable and dangerous political situation, which forced him to sleep aboard a yacht watched over by a naval [[destroyer]] for several weeks after his return, Karamanlis moved swiftly to defuse the tension between [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]], which came on the brink of war over the [[Greco-Turkish relations#The 1974 crisis and after|Cyprus]] crisis, and begin the process of transition from military rule to a pluralist democracy.<ref name="David Glass"/> == Metapolitefsi through Democracy: The transition that worked == === Strategy of democratization === [[Image:Karamanlismetapolitefsi.jpg|350px|thumb|Metapolitefsi day one: Konstantinos Karamanlis taking the oath of office during metapolitefsi under the watchful eyes of [[Phaedon Gizikis]] on 24th July 1974 at 4:15 a.m. Ironically, they stand at the same place and in the same hall Markezinis stood less than a year before during his swearing in ceremony]] The events that led to metapolitefsi and the traditional weaknesses of the Greek political and social institutions were not conducive to a comprehensive strategy towards democracy.<ref name="M. Spourdalakis">Michalis Spourdalakis, ''Securing Democracy in Post-Authoritarian Greece: The Role of Political Parties'', ''Stabilizing Fragile Democracies: New Party Systems in Southern and Eastern Europe'', Routledge 1995, p. 168. ISBN 0-415-11802-6</ref> The civil society was not prepared to articulate a transition strategy "from below" and the groups of resistance were fragmented, despite their political glamor. Therefore the transition process became a "from above" project, whose weight had to fall on the shoulders of Karamanlis.<ref name="M. Spourdalakis"/> Karamanlis first legalized the [[Communist Party of Greece]] (KKE) that was constantly demonized by the junta, cleverly using this political move as an easy differentiator between the stubborn junta rigidity on the matter that smacked of [[totalitarianism]] and his own [[realpolitik]] approach honed by years of practicing democracy. The legalization of the Communist Party was also meant as a gesture of political [[inclusionism]] and [[rapprochement]]. At the same time Karamanlis also freed all political prisoners and pardoned all political crimes against the junta.<ref name="Rise and decline of Democracy"/> This approach was warmly received by the people, long weary of junta divisive [[polemics]]. Following through with his reconciliation theme he also adopted a measured approach to removing collaborators and appointees of the dictatorship from the positions they held in government [[bureaucracy]], and, wanting to officially inaugurate the new democratic era in Greek politics as soon as possible, declared that elections would be held in November [[1974]], a mere four months after the collapse of the [[Greek military junta of 1967-1974|''Régime of the Colonels'']]. This statesmanlike approach pleased the right as well as the left and greatly lowered the political temperature of the country. It is also another reason why the Democracy driven metapolitefsi worked. In the legislative election of 1974, Karamanlis with his newly formed conservative party, not coincidentally named ''[[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]]'' (Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία), transliterated in English as: Nea Demokratia) obtained a massive parliamentary majority and was elected Prime Minister. The elections were soon followed by the [[1974]] [[plebiscite]] on the abolition of the [[monarchy]] and the establishment of the Third [[Hellenic Republic]], the televised [[1975]] trials of the former dictators who received death sentences for high treason and mutiny that were later commuted to life incarceration.<ref name="Decision 477/1975">Decision 477/1975 of the five-member Court of Appeal, which the [[Court of Cassation (Greece)|Court of Cassation]] upheld (Decision 59/1976). See Pantelis Antonis, Koutsoumpinas Stephanos, Gerozisis Triantafyllos (eds), ''Texts of Constitutional History'', II, Athens: Antonis Sakkoulas, 1993, p. 1113. ISBN 960-232-020-6</ref> The adoption of the [[Constitution of Greece|Constitution of 1975]] by the newly elected [[Hellenic Parliament]] solemnized the new era of democratic governance. The parliamentary committee that proposed the draft constitution was presided by [[Konstantinos Tsatsos|Constantine Tsatsos]], an [[Academician]], former minister and close friend of Karamanis, who served as the first elected [[President of Greece]] (after metapolitefsi) from 1975 to 1980. ==First years after transition== ''[[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]]'' went on to win the [[Greek legislative election, 1977]], and Karamanlis continued to serve as Prime Minister until [[May 10]], [[1980]], when he succeeded Tsatsos as President of Greece and then cohabited for four years (1981-1985) with his fierce political opponent and leader of [[PASOK]], the Greek socialist party, prime minister [[Andreas Papandreou]]. PASOK and Papandreou captured the sizeable center-left current in Greece, which emerged from fragmented resistance groups that were active during the dictatorship. The political and social views expounded by [[PASOK]] were in antithesis to the centre-right policies followed by the conservative government of ND (1974-1981). According to Ino Afentouli, the political expression of the metapolitefsi, namely the coming to power of a conservative leader such as Karamanlis, did not correspond to the changes which had in the meantime befallen Greek society. Thereby, this current often opposed ND's governments, disdained the old centrist political elite expressed by [[Center Union - New Forces]] (and its leader [[Georgios Mavros]]) and prompted the rise to power of PASOK and Papandreou in the [[Greek legislative election, 1981|elections of 1981]].<ref name="Ino Afentouli">Ino Afentouli, ''The Greek Media Landscape'', ''Greece in the Twentieth Century'', Routledge 2003, pp. 172-176. ISBN 0-7146-5407-8</ref> Since 1974 Papandreou challenged Karamanlis' choices and objected to his dominant role in defining post-1974 democracy, while others political forces of the opposition, such as Center Union - New Forces and EDA occasionally offered him an inconsistent support, especially during 1974-1977.<ref name="M. Spourdalakis" /> In the elections of 1981 Papandreou used as slogan the catch word ''change'' (Greek: ''αλλαγή''). Some analysts, including Afentouli, regard PASOK's victory under Papandreou as a culmination of the metapolitefsi of 1974, given that the fall of the junta had not been accompanied by the rise of new political powers, but rather by the resumption of power by the old guard politicians.<ref name="Ino Afentouli" /> However Karamanlis' substantial contribution to metapolitefsi is widely acknowledged. ==Citations and notes==  <div class="references-small"> <references/> </div> [[:Category:Politics of Greece]]  {|style="width:100%;background:none;margin:-.8em 0 -.7em 0" |style="font-size:85%;text-align:left;white-space:nowrap;color:#000;font-family:Century Gothic"|[[Χρήστης:Teles/Future|μελλοντικά σχέδια]] '''·''' [[Χρήστης:Teles/Personals|Σημειώσεις]] '''·''' [[Χρήστης:Teles/Page3|Κάποια σελίδα]] '''·''' [[Χρήστης:Teles/Page4|Κάποια σελίδα]] '''·''' [[Συζήτηση χρήστη:Teles]] '''·''' [[Χρήστης:Teles/Page5|Test 1]] '''·''' [[Χρήστης:Teles/Page6|Test 2]] '''·''' [[http://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%95%CE%B9%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C:Emailuser/Teles e-mail]] '''·''' |}